Q&A: Fix for Leaking Cotton Cloth Diapers

Here is a quick email correspondence with a customer who was having problems with her GroVia hybrid cloth diaper system.


---------------------------------------
From Customer:


Hello BumRite - I'm not sure who to address this email to, but I'm having some problems with the Grovia diapers I bought from you a few months ago. I seem to have a lot of leakages with them and wondered if you had any suggestions about how to avoid this? My son is 7 months old and I have had problems for a few months with his clothes getting wet when he has a wet diaper. I change him more frequently but this doesn't seem to make much of a difference. I don't have this problem with the other diapers that I have (rumparooz) and I wonder if it's because of the cotton inserts. 


Reply to Customer:

Hi!  I am sorry that you are having problems with the diapers.  I assume that you  "prepped" them by washing AND drying at least 5 times before use.  I swear - it took my GroVia soakers 15 times before the really worked well.

The dryer also helps to eliminate the naturally occurring oils in the cotton so that they don't repel.

Do you have access to DAWN dishwashing liquid (the Blue formula)?  It sounds like you have either 1) mineral buildup 2) detergent buildup 3) a combination of the two and you need to "strip" the material with the Blue Dawn.

Here is a "How To" article on washing (read the section about "stripping"):

http://www.bumritediapers.com/Articles.asp?ID=138

Also - print this list and take it to the store for proper laundry detergent (you don't want anything that will coat the diapers, like softeners, fragrances, brighteners, etc):

http://www.bummis.com/media/detergent-information.pdf

Hope this helps.  We use GroVia during the day and love it - but Cotton can be persnickety.  Once you get it right, though, it is THE BEST diapering fabric available.

Stick with it!

Angela

Angela Powell
Chief Bum
BumRite Cloth Diaper Company
angela@bumritediapers.com
(707) 812-1BUM